Weekly Feline News

Here go the cat-related news for this past week..

Last week witnessed a major environmental catastrophe strike a critical habitat of the endangered bengal tigers. Cyclone Aila - a tropical storm that struck eastern India and southern Bangladesh is feared to have caused significant damage to the mangrove forests of Sunderban, one of the last bastions of truly wild tigers in the world. Over a dozen tigers and numerous herbivores are thought to have been swept away by the cyclone winds of up to 75 mph. Over two million people were also affected by this tragedy, with reports of significant damage to the life and property of many of the poor dwellers of Sunderban. While water level in the forest has now dropped considerably from the initial twenty feet reported at the time of the cyclone, the extent of damage is still not clear with doubts being raised on the number of tigers that were able to swim to higher grounds. Many of the tigers' drinking spots have been flooded with saline water and lots of prey animals are thought to have been lost, raising prospects of straying of tigers into human habitats for their survival. In one incident a tiger swam into a village where it was later tranquilized and safely relocated. Let's hope for the best for the people and wildlife of Sunderban in these tragic times. More here, here and here.


There is also some good news for the striped cats this week. The Indian state of Madhya Pradesh recently got close to ten million Indian rupees (over two hundred thousand US dollars) to help it in its efforts to combat poaching and conserve tigers. Madhya Pradesh is also close to raising a special tiger protection force to patrol its forests and guard the tigers. More on these positive developments here and here.

Meanwhile in Malaysia officers arrested two people over charges of smuggling, and seized five skins of Malayan tigers from their possession. Malayan tigers are amongst the most endangered of the tiger subspecies, with only a few hundred individuals remaining in the wild. More on this here.

In other news, two people were killed this past week when they came in contact with tigers in captivity. In the first incident a man committed suicide by jumping into a tiger enclosure in Næstved Zoo in Denmark. In the other case a keeper was mauled by a white tiger at Zion Wildlife Gardens in New Zealand. Unfortunately both the employee and the tiger lost their lives in the latter incident. More on the above two here and here.

Zion Wildlife Park is already under controversy over reports of animal abuse and an ensuing legal battle of custody between 'Lion Man' Craig Busch and his mother Patricia Busch. Recently reports have emerged that, if true, point to horrible acts of cruelty towards animals on part of Mr Busch. These include, but are not limited to, declawing of the big cats at the park and killing of the cubs. To read more about this and how the animals at Zion suffered for commercial gain of man, go here, here and here.

To lions now. Whereas one lion was unfortunately lost in Kenya's Masai Mara the news otherwise is good for the king of beasts. The unfortunate lion was apparently poisoned by villagers over alleged killing of their cattle. Quite a regrettable occurrence. More here.


The population of Asiatic Lions is on the rise in Bhavnagar, Junagadh, India. The number of lions has almost doubled there recently, from fourteen to twenty five individuals, and the forest department is considering the declaration of this area as a conservancy. The presence of this pocket of lions, nearly a hundred kilometres away from their original home in Gir, gives an indication of how far the adaptable big cats are venturing out of the forest to establish new homes as their population rises in the limited Gir forest. More on this here.

Meanwhile in Gir, an individual was arrested at a check post when he was found wearing a necklace of claws. The claws, that could belong to a lion or a leopard, have been sent for forensic analysis while investigations are underway with the person apprehended. A lucky break that could unveil some poachers. In another 'lucky break' in Gir, a man was able to survive an attack by two lions who were attempting to carry him away. According to details the villager was asleep in his hut when two male lions showed up and began to drag him from his bed by his leg. Fortunately his family members woke up and their cries scared the lions away. Apart from minor injuries the man survived largely unscathed. So did his two young children who were sleeping on the same bed with him! Full report of the above two incidents here and here.

That's all the news for this past week. Have a great time over the next few days :)

Images are of the tigress Zoe and the lion Freedom at Shambala Preserve in California © William Dow - Billdowphotography.com